Washington DC, March 6 -- US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday said that Washington's decision on issuing a 30-day waiver to India to purchase certain Russian oil supplies is part of "short-term measures" aimed at keeping global oil prices under control amid supply pressures linked to tensions in the Middle East.

Speaking to ABC News Live, Wright explained that the move is intended to quickly bring oil stored in floating reserves into the global market and ease immediate supply constraints.

He added that there are significant volumes of Russian oil currently stored in floating tankers around southern Asia, and that the US has encouraged India to import those supplies to stabilise the market.

"We need to get oil on the market in t...